Perusing Pinterest can yield cold weather workouts

Hibernation would be the ideal solution to the winter blues. No need to deal with the cold, or the snow, or the question, "How in the world am I going to stay fit?"

To be honest, going out in the cold and running is my last resort, the if-all-else-fails, very unpleasant option. After trying some strategies, these workouts seemed the most effective:

1. Buy a treadmill or elliptical and place it in your basement. While it will be difficult to convince your parents, it really is a nice way to avoid the cold. You don't even have to go to your car and drive to the gym! Bonus.

2. Go to the gym. A home gym is impractical unless you are going to dedicate yourself to doing it every day. If you are going to dedicate yourself every day, then you'll get bored with one or two options. So go to the gym. You can bike, swim, lift weights, take a Zumba class or any other class.

3. Get workout DVDs. Now I'm bringing it back home again. This is mostly because I can barely get out of my pajamas during the winter, let alone leave the house. You can find all sorts of DVDs, from "Dancing with the Stars" to yoga, Zumba, and high-impact options.

4. Play Wii Motion or Xbox Kinect games. I'm not a huge fan of these games, but there are some out there that help you exercise. "Zumba," "Just Dance" and "Wii Fit" are just some that require you to move around. Gamer meets exercise for an hour or two a day, and you're on your way to a more fit winter.

5. Have the self-control to watch what you're eating. Especially on snow days. Walking to the kitchen to get a snack during the commercials is not exercise.

6. Do sit-ups and push-ups during those commercials. While you may laugh, I'm serious. If you watch TV a lot, try doing killer quick sit-up and push-up workouts. Then go get your snack.

7. Small, effective workouts can be found online. I browse Pinterest boards for ideas. I've heard that if you exercise for 21 days straight it becomes a habit and it's not so hard to do anymore.

And some last-ditch ideas for the if-all-else-fails-then-try-this people:

8. Layer on the clothing and go outside. If you go on a run, you'll want to have easy layers that you can take off as you warm up. Although people will look at you like you're insane, I always admire the people who run when it is 20 degrees outside.

9. On a snowy day, go sledding - preferably down a steep hill. There is nothing that gets the heart pumping more than an exhilarating ride, and a long exhausting trek back up the hill.